


i'm falling for your eyes (but they don't know me yet)

by rocketshiptospace



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 06:44:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2300249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rocketshiptospace/pseuds/rocketshiptospace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I bumped into a dude the other day, his chest was probably a lot more sturdy than I anticipated. Must've left a bruise.” Calum says with a shrug.</p><p>Michael stares at him, wide-eyed. “Calum, Calum that's not a bruise.” </p><p>“What do you mean it's not a bruise, what else could it be?” </p><p>Luke speaks up this time, voice timid and careful. “Calum, I think you might've gotten your soulmate touch.”</p><p>or, Calum meets his soulmate without realizing and now's he's stuck with a cherry tree on his back and loneliness in his heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i'm falling for your eyes (but they don't know me yet)

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be short fic and then i got carried away because lets be real its soulmate fic i can never write short soulmate fic thats not in my nature

Calum is insanely fed up with like, everything right now.

It's stupid too, because his day started pretty okay, but then somewhere around lunch time Michael barged into their shared apartment, waving his arm around like a fucking lunatic.

When Calum eventually managed to get Michael to calm down slightly, Michael had violently shoved his arm in Calum's face. Which was like, okay.

The thing is, Michael had gotten his soulmate touch. It happens when soulmate's meet, or more specifically, when they first touch. For some unknown reason, a tattoo will appear on the exact place your skin touches your soulmate's for the first time.

The tattoo's can be anything. Calum's parents met when his mother almost tripped and his father steadied her by placing his hands on her shoulders. So now his father has tiny little stars on the palms of his hands and with this mother the stars are splayed across her shoulders.

Michael's, however, is a long string of music notes that start at the palm of his hand and wrap all around his other arm. Calum studied the music notes closely and couldn't help a large wave of jealousy coursing through him. Calum had wanted his soulmate touch since the day he learned what it was, and here was his skeptic best friend, getting it before him.

“What happened?” He asked Michael and Michael practically beamed.

“I was at the coffee shop, you know the one just off campus? Anyway, there was this dude sitting at the corner table and he was like, really cute. Plus he was wearing a blink 182 shirt so I was like, might as well go talk to him, right? At least the kid has a good taste in music. So I walked over to him and I was like 'Yo, is it okay if I sit here?' and he looked up and god, Calum, his eyes are _so blue_. So, anyway, he was like 'yeah, hi, I'm Luke' and he extended his arm towards me, which was a bit weird, because he was sitting down and I was standing and who even shakes hands when meeting anymore? But I didn't want to be rude, so I shook it, and that's when it happened.” Michael smiled absentmindedly and no matter how bitter Calum was over this, it was still pretty cute.

“So, Luke, huh? And where is Luke now?”

“He had class. We're meeting up later tonight though. He's invited me to his dorm, watch a movie or something. God, Calum, you're going to love him, he's so cute!” Michael continued to gush over how adorable Luke was, but Calum didn't really pay attention, to focused on the first three words.

“Fuck! Class!”

So that's how he ended up here, sprinting down the streets in a desperate attempt to be on time for his afternoon class. His annoyance about Michael meeting his soulmate before him is now mixed with his annoyance for having to rush to class to still be on time and it's not really a good combination.

Mostly because he's so busy with trying to be on time that he's not really paying attention to his surroundings. This results in an attempt to cross the road, only to be almost hit by a car. The load car horn startles him and he jumps back in surprise, narrowly avoiding the car but slamming straight into the person standing behind him.

He doesn't fall, the solid body behind him stopping him from toppling over, but he does drop the books and the cup of coffee he was holding and now his books are covered and coffee and  _are you shitting me._ He leans down and collects his books, all the while throwing apologies to the person he bumped into earlier, who's still standing behind him. 

“Do you need help?” The person asks and ah, apparently it's a guy. Calum picks up a notebook and stands up again.

“No, thanks, I'm sorry again, gotta go now, bye!” Calum says, before he's sprinting off again. He glances over his shoulder quickly, realizing he never even got a good look at the guy he crashed into, but all he sees is a flash of hazel eyes and bouncy, honey colored curls, before they're both swallowed by the crowd. As he rushes inside his classroom, he realizes his back is tingling. He frowns. Calum didn't think he crashed into the other guy _that hard_ , but it feels like it's going to leave a bruise nonetheless.

–

Calum's doesn't realize the tingling had a whole other reason till a almost a week later.

He's in the living room, just lounging around, flicking through the channels on TV, when Michael and Luke stumble in.

“Oh hell no,” Calum says, immediately jumping up from the couch. They're cute together, really, they fit, and Calum is happy for them, it's just. He just wishes they'd keep their PDA to a minimum. “I'm going to take a shower.” He states, walking out of the room, taking off his shirt in the process. Even though he hates PDA, he's never really been against public nudity and it's a _shirt_ after all. It's not like Calum's naked upper side is unlike everything they've ever seen before. 

However, the minute Calum sheds his shirt, both Michael and Luke gasp. Calum turns around, annoyed, ready with a speech about 'if you're allowed to eat each other's faces off in the living room than I'm allowed to take of my shirt' when Michael speaks up. “Dude, your  _back._ ”

Calum frowns, confused, because as far as he's concerned, nothing's wrong with his back. But then hit hits him and he shrugs. “Oh, yeah, bumped into a dude the other day, his chest was probably a lot more sturdy than I anticipated. Must've left a bruise.”

Michael stares at him, wide-eyed. “Calum, Calum that's not a bruise.”

“What do you mean it's not a bruise, what else could it be?”

Luke speaks up this time, voice timid and careful. “Calum, I think you might've gotten your soulmate touch.”

–

It's a cherry tree. The trunk starts at the base of Calum's back, just above his ass, and wavers out in thin branches at the top, spanning all across his shoulders. There's small buds on the branches, but no flowers. All and all, and as far Calum can see, it's actually really, really pretty.

It's a shame Calum doesn't know who has the matching tree.

“This is fucking ridiculous. Like, seriously. I met my soulmate and I didn't even _realize._ Literally all I know about him is that he has hazel eyes and curly hair. I don't even know if he lives here, he might just be a fucking tourist or maybe he was visiting his family, who the fuck _knows._ I don't. I know fucking nothing. This is such bullshit.” 

Michael sighs. “I know, Cal, I know this is frustrating, but look on the bright side, at least you have one, right? At least there's someone out there who cares for you. Plus they must've gotten the tattoo too, so if they were a tourist or just visiting, they would probably stick around a little bit longer, just in case.”

Calum groans and buries his head in a pillow. “Ugh, I know, but still. This is stupid.”

“You're stupid.” Luke mutters and Calum and Michael's heads shoot up to look at him. They haven't known Luke for too long, but they still know that's the most unlike Luke thing for him to say.

“I'm sorry, I just, I thought that would maybe relieve the tension a bit? Lighten the mood? But it didn't, I'm sorry, I don't think you're stupid, you're pretty awesome actually and I hope you find your soulmate soon, even if you already did in a way, but like, I hope you find them again. Soon.” Luke rambles and Calum and Michael both smile. There's the Luke they know again.

“Don't worry about it Luke, I appreciate your effort. Anyway, I have class now, talk to you guys later, yeah?” Calum says, getting up from the couch. Michael shoots him a sympathetic look, because he knows Calum's schedule and he knows Calum doesn't have class for another hour, but keeps quiet about it, respecting Calum's need for a little privacy.

So Calum mindlessly wanders the city, trying to think of anything but his missed opportunity at meeting his soulmate. What if that was his only chance? What if the universe decides to be a dick and he will forever be stuck with a tree on his back and loneliness in his heart?

He thought going for a walk would help him clear his mind, but it's not really working. Especially because he keeps seeing couples and their soulmate touches. Most people have them on their arms, because shaking hands is often the first touch between two people, and Calum sees flocks of birds circling around wrists, tiny flowers wrapped around people's fingers and he feels like he's going to cry.

It's just not fair, that's all. Somewhere out there, his soulmate exists, and he might never get to touch him. Calum wonders how his soulmate feels about this. Maybe he's pissed at Calum, for running off like that, even though Calum didn't know at the time he was his soulmate. Maybe he's just sad, that he didn't get the change to talk to Calum, like Calum's sad he didn't get to talk to him. Maybe he's doesn't even care.

By the time he actually has class he's ready to tear his hair out. The universe must really, _really_ hate him.

–

Michael and Luke are finally fed up with Calum's moping about a month later, and decide to take him to the zoo to cheer him up. Calum doubts it will help, but he kind of feels guilty for ruining Michael and Luke's first official month as a couple by continuously moping around the apartment, so he agrees to go with them.

The zoo is surprisingly fun. Luke drags Michael off to go see the pengiuns about five minutes in, but Calum doesn't really mind. He's fine just walking around the zoo on his own for a bit. Plus, this gives him plenty of chance to observe the cute little lion cubs in the lion enclosure.

“Adorable, aren't they?” A voice next to them pipes up when Calum's been watching the cubs chase each other around the enclosure for a good ten minutes.

“Yeah, really cute. Wish I could take one of them home with me.” Calum responds, without looking up. He'd love to know who his conversational partner is, but one one of the lion cubs has the other in some sort of weird head lock and the other is trying to escape by flailing his arms around and it's _adorable_.

The guy, because it's obviously a guy, laughs. “I'm afraid that's illegal. I should know, I looked it up. So that's why I eventually settled for a season pass to the zoo. I live just around the corner, so you know, I come here almost every Sunday.” Calum has no idea why this stranger is talking to him or why he's sharing all this information, but his voice is nice and soothing so Calum doesn't really mind.

“I was dragged here by my friends, but I do really like it. Might get a season-” He turns to look at the guy and his breath catches in his throat and he completely forgets how to speak. All that comes out is a weak “You.”

“Me?” The guy asked, confused. He's tall, but still slightly shorter than Calum and he's wearing black skinny jeans and a gray, ripped t-shirt. There's a pair of glasses on his nose and a bandanna tied around his hair. That's not why Calum has suddenly lost his ability to speak, though. No, no the reason Calum's currently frozen to the ground is because of hazel eyes that look at him curiously from behind the glasses. It's the mess of honey colored curls that peak over the edges of the bandanna. It's the fact that the last time Calum saw this guy, he got his soulmate touch.

“Let me see.” Calum immediately says, reaching his hands for Ashton's shirt.

“Woah, what?” The guy says, grabbing Calum's wrists and _oh._

Calum used to read books about the soulmate touch, and he remembers reading how the first time you touch your soulmate might give you a tattoo, every time you touch them after that is still special. You can still _feel_ it. And Calum's definitely feeling it right now. He can't even describe the feeling, but it's like a mug of hot chocolate after walking home in the rain, like the taste of the first strawberries of the season, like waking up before your alarm clock and realizing you actually had a nice night of sleep. It's all those things and more and Calum looks into the guys eyes, who are widened in shock, and he _knows._

_This is him._

He still needs confirmation, though, and as he reaches for the guys shirt a second time, he lets Calum. Calum's hands carefully grab the fabric and slowly lift it up.

He knows what he's supposed to expect, of course. He slammed his back into his soulmate's chest, so if he has a gigantic tree on his back, his soulmate's going to have a gigantic tree on his chest.

The thing is, however, Calum had only seen his tattoo on the photo's Michael made of it, since, well, the damn thing is on his _back._ So when he lifts the shirt and finds an exact replica of his own tree sprawled over this guy's chest, his breath catches in his throat.

It's _beautiful._ The branches reach all over his chest, over his heart, and just like Calum's, there's small dots of closed buds on the branches. Calum tentatively reaches a hand out, because he just wants to _touch,_ but he looks up to the guy for confirmation anyway. He nods, so Calum carefully lets his fingers graze across the three trunk, up to the branches. Suddenly the buds open up, out of nothing, and flowers spawn all over his chest.

“Flower,” Calum breaths out, fingers carefully tracing the outline of the one right above the guy's heart.

“Ashton.” Is the guy's reply.

Calum tears his eyes away from the cute soft pink flowers and sends him a confused look. “What?”

The guy smiles. “Ashton. My name is Ashton. I don't know, thought that might be useful information, since, you know. We're soulmate's?”

He sounds a bit hesitant, which is weird, since Calum had been anything but subtle about well, all of this. He does feel bad, however, for not even learning the guy's, _Ashton's,_ name before yanking his shirt off in public. “Calum. And yeah, definitely your soulmate.” And with that he turns around and lifts his shirt.

Unlike Luke and Michael's surprised gasps, all Ashton lets out is a quiet 'oh'. He feels hesitant hands on his back and then a more delighted 'oh!' when flowers start blooming just like they did by Ashton.

“It's really beautiful.” Ashton breathes out.

“You're really beautiful.” Calum says, as he tugs his shirt down again and turns around, because well, Ashton really is. He's one of those people that just _shines._ Like, Ashton's entire being radiates happiness and safety and Calum just wants to snuggle up to him on a couch with a blanket thrown over them while they watch reruns of Friends.

Ashton blushes. “Thank you. You're not too bad yourself.”

Now it's Calum turn to blush. “So, uh, I was kind of going to take a look at the elephants now, you want to come with? Like, I know you really love the lion cubs, but, you know, elephants. Elephants are cool. I think. I don't know, I have never been here before, so like. Maybe the elephants are really boring here, who knows. You probably do. Are the elephants boring?” Calum knows he's rambling but he can't really stop, because there's an insanely cute guy standing in front of him and this guy is his _soulmate,_ so, yeah, sue him if he's a bit nervous.

Ashton simply smiles though and extends his hand towards Calum. “I'd love to accompany you to the elephants. And I can assure you they're great.”

Calum gratefully takes Ashton's hand and follows him through the throngs of people towards the elephants.

They have a lot to discuss, about, well, everything really, but that's okay.

They have the time.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr [here](http://skatertotluke.tumblr.com) :)))


End file.
